Sobornaya mountain is located in the Central part of the Ples above the Volga river. The first settlement was built on it in the 12th century, and in 1410, by order of Prince Vasily I, a powerful wooden fortress was built.
The main task of the Ples fortress was to protect the river trade route, as well as the customs post on the Volga. The river was very convenient for the predatory campaigns of the Tatars from the Kazan khanate, so the fortress had a large garrison.
After the annexation of the Kazan khanate to Russia in 1552, the need to protect the Volga trade route disappeared. The dilapidated walls and other structures of the Ples fortress were eventually dismantled, and residential buildings were located on the Volga embankment. No buildings of the 15th century on the top have survived to this day.
On the top of the Sobornaya mountain, in 1699, the Assumption Cathedral of Ples was built. In 1828, a summer Kazan Church and a stone fence around the Sobornaya mountain were built next to it. In Soviet times, they were destroyed. They left only the stone gates and the Assumption Cathedral.
In 1786, a building of Chamber of Representatives was built on the Sobornaya hill, where the town government and the Bank were located. In 1910, a bust of Vasily I, the founder of Ples, was placed in front of it. In the center of Sobornaya mountain, a birch grove is planted. It looks especially beautiful during the Golden autumn.
Sobornaya mountain is a must to climb to enjoy the magnificent scenery. Very beautiful view of the Sobornaya mountain opens to the Levitan Mount and Zarechnaya Quarter on the river Shohonka. Then follow the path along the edge of the mountain along the Volga embankment to look at the stone Resurrection Church on the Trade square.
